This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Greatest Hits" Red Hot Chili Peppers album – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by
Red Hot Chili Peppers
ReleasedNovember 18, 2003 (2003-11-18)
Recorded1988–2003
GenreFunk rock, alternative rock
Length66:46
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology
By the Way
(2002) 		Greatest Hits
(2003) 		Red Hot Chili Peppers Live in Hyde Park
(2004)
Singles from Greatest Hits
  1. "Fortune Faded"
    Released: November 3, 2003[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Greatest Hits is the second greatest hits album and second compilation album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on Nov. 18, 2003, by Warner Bros. Records. Aside from their cover of "Higher Ground", all songs on the album are from the band's tenure on Warner Bros. Records from 1991 to 2002, in addition to two newly recorded songs.

Greatest Hits was released along with a separately sold DVD containing most of their music videos from the same time period.

The album was released with Copy Control protection system in some European markets, but not in the United States.

Overview

While their first hits compilation album What Hits!? encompasses material from their 1984 debut to 1989's Mother's Milk, this collection of songs takes off from that point, including material from their 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik up through their 2002 album By the Way. It was during this period of their career that the band became a major commercial force in the music industry. Therefore, this compilation includes the majority of hit singles released since their breakthrough cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground".

"My Friends" is the only track included from the 1995 album, One Hot Minute. However, the music video for "Aeroplane" is featured on the DVD version of the compilation. "Warped", the lead single from One Hot Minute, is also absent as both a song and music video on the DVD.

Of the band's eight U.S. number-one singles on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart up to that point, only one, "Can't Stop", from their 2002 album By the Way, was excluded, though the music video was featured on the DVD.

Also absent were top-10 hits "Around the World," from their 1999 album Californication and "The Zephyr Song" from By the Way although the DVD contained the music videos for the songs. Conversely, "Breaking the Girl" was not included on the DVD, as well as "Parallel Universe," the latter of which never had a music video released.

To date, Greatest Hits has outsold six of the band's 13 studio albums, including Mother's Milk and I'm with You, making it the band's fifth-highest-selling release.

Unreleased studio album

In 2011, drummer Chad Smith discussed the recording sessions for Greatest Hits, mentioning that the band had recorded 16 songs and wished to release an entirely new album just for this material after a brief tour; however, guitarist John Frusciante was heavily against this idea at the time, claiming that his playing style had evolved and changed too much, as had his musical influences. Smith said there was an entire Red Hot Chili Peppers album out there that nobody would ever hear.[6]

Aside from the two new tracks on the album ("Fortune Faded" and "Save the Population") and the two b-sides from the "Fortune Faded" single ("Eskimo" and "Bunker Hill"), only two other studio tracks from these sessions have been officially released. "Bicycle Song" and "Runaway" appeared as bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of By the Way when it was released on iTunes in 2006 and can now be found on many other digital music stores. Live versions of several other songs have also been released. "Rolling Sly Stone" and "Leverage Of Space" were included on the Live in Hyde Park album in 2004 and "Mini-Epic (Kill for Your Country)" was released as an "official" bootleg in 2015. A studio in-house CD-R was leaked in 2014 which contained two instrumental tracks from these sessions, called "Starlight" and "50/Fifty", and 3 different takes of "Runaway".[7] The names of the remaining songs are either unknown or unconfirmed.

On February 7, 2014, in an interview with fans on Reddit, Smith claimed that the band hoped to one day release a box set including all unreleased material from the recording sessions for Greatest Hits.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kiedis, Frusciante, Flea, Smith except where noted

Greatest Hits track listing
No.TitleAlbumLength
1."Under the Bridge"Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 19914:33
2."Give It Away"Blood Sugar Sex Magik4:44
3."Californication"Californication, 19995:29
4."Scar Tissue"Californication3:35
5."Soul to Squeeze"Coneheads: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, 19934:50
6."Otherside"Californication4:15
7."Suck My Kiss"Blood Sugar Sex Magik3:35
8."By the Way"By the Way, 20023:35
9."Parallel Universe"Californication4:29
10."Breaking the Girl"Blood Sugar Sex Magik4:54
11."My Friends" (Kiedis/Flea/Navarro/Smith)One Hot Minute, 19954:09
12."Higher Ground" (Wonder)Mother's Milk, 19893:22
13."Universally Speaking"By the Way4:16
14."Road Trippin'"Californication3:25
15."Fortune Faded"Previously unreleased3:21
16."Save the Population"Previously unreleased4:05
Total length:66:37

DVD

Greatest Hits and Videos
Video by
Red Hot Chili Peppers
ReleasedNovember 18, 2003
Recorded1989–2003
GenreAlternative rock, funk rock
LabelWarner Bros.
Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology
Off the Map
(2001) 		Greatest Hits and Videos
(2003) 		iTunes Originals – Red Hot Chili Peppers
(2006)

Greatest Hits and Videos was also released with the tracks above, including a DVD (available as Greatest Videos) containing the following music videos:

Greatest Hits and Videos track listing
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Higher Ground"Mother's Milk3:22
2."Suck My Kiss"Blood Sugar Sex Magik3:38
3."Give It Away"Blood Sugar Sex Magik4:32
4."Under the Bridge"Blood Sugar Sex Magik4:26
5."Soul to Squeeze"Coneheads soundtrack4:51
6."Aeroplane"One Hot Minute4:09
7."My Friends" (studio version)One Hot Minute4:06
8."Around the World"Californication4:01
9."Scar Tissue"Californication3:04
10."Otherside"Californication4:18
11."Californication"Californication5:20
12."Road Trippin'"Californication3:23
13."By the Way"By the Way3:37
14."The Zephyr Song"By the Way3:50
15."Can't Stop"By the Way4:34
16."Universally Speaking"By the Way4:14
Total length:66:46

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Greatest Hits
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[85] Platinum 40,000^
Australia (ARIA)[86] 6× Platinum 420,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[87] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[88] Platinum 50,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[89] Gold 50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[90] Platinum 40,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[91] Gold 17,920[91]
France (SNEP)[92] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[93] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[94] Gold 10,000^
Italy (FIMI)[95]
sales since 2009 		Platinum 50,000‡
Japan (RIAJ)[96] Platinum 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[97] Gold 40,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[98] 2× Platinum 30,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[99] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[100] Gold 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[101] 2× Platinum 80,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[102] 6× Platinum 1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA)[103] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[104] 3× Platinum 3,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "RHCP Timeline". redhotchilipeppers.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-06.
  2. ^ "Greatest Hits [Warner Bros.] – Red Hot Chili Peppers". Allmusic.
  3. ^ Brunner, Rob (November 14, 2003). "The Greatest Hits Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  4. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  5. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Red Hot Chili Peppers". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 681-2. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ^ "Issues and Contents of Modern Drummer magazine". Modern Drummer Magazine.
  7. ^ "[2003] Greatest Hits Sessions".
  8. ^ "Hey reddit, Chad Smith here. The REAL Chad Smith. Drummer, Red Wings Fan, and closeted Guitarist. : IAmA". reddit.
  9. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  13. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 47, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  14. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  15. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: (({date))}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  18. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  19. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "RIAS CHART FOR WEEK ENDING 21 November 2003". Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  23. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  24. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  25. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  26. ^ "Top 40 Albums - 2 / 2004". Tracklisten. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  27. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Greatest Hits" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2004. 3. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  31. ^ "Lescharts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  32. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  33. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 35. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  34. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  35. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  36. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2003". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  37. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2003". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  38. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2003" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  39. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2003". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  40. ^ "Best of 2003 - Albums". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  41. ^ "Classifica annuale 2003 (dal 30.12.2002 al 28.12.2003) – Album & Compilation" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  42. ^ "Årslista Album – År 20013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  43. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2003". hitparade.ch. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  44. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  45. ^ "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2003" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 17, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  46. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  47. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2004". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  48. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2004" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  49. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  50. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  51. ^ "Classifica annuale 2004 (dal 29.12.2003 al 02.01.2005) – Album & Compilation" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  52. ^ "年間 アルバムランキング 2004年度" [Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 2004] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  53. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2004". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  54. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  55. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  56. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  57. ^ "2006 UK Albums Chart" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  58. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  59. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  60. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  61. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  62. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  63. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  64. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2018". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  65. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  66. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  67. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  68. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  69. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  70. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  71. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  72. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  73. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  74. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  75. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2021". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  76. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  77. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  78. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  79. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart for 2022". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  80. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  81. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart for 2023". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  82. ^ "End of Year Albums Chart – 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  83. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums of the 00's". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  84. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums of the 10's". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  85. ^ "Gold & Platinum Discs". CAPIF (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  86. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  87. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  88. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2010". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  89. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  90. ^ "Danish album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  91. ^ a b "Red Hot Chili Peppers" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  92. ^ "French album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in French). InfoDisc. Select RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and click OK. 
  93. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Red Hot Chili Peppers; 'Greatest Hits')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  94. ^ "Ελληνικό Chart – Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  95. ^ "Italian album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  96. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved October 1, 2019. Select 2003年11月 on the drop-down menu
  97. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 3, 2018. Enter Greatest Hits in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2004 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  98. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  99. ^ "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 1, 2019. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2004 under "Año". Select 1 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
  100. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2004" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  101. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Greatest Hits')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  102. ^ "British album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  103. ^ "American album certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  104. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2012". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
Categories